African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, 2003

The African Union Convention is clear that effectively tackling corruption must be firmly grounded in “Respect for democratic principles and institutions, popular participation” and commits member states to “prevent, detect, punish and eradicate corruption and related offences in the public and private sectors.”

The Convention situates whistleblowing as a key mechanism to combating corruption and doing so in order to foster democratic accountability and principles of social and economic justice. Article 5 (5) and (6) respectively require member states to